The advantages of cardiovascular exercise are well-documented, and you don't have to be a runner or cyclist to enjoy them. Walking, a low-impact exercise, can boost your immune system.
- Maintain a Healthy Heart: Starting to walk challenges your heart to pump oxygen-rich blood to your muscles, increasing your breathing rate and circulation. Regular walking strengthens your heart muscle, just like any other muscle in your body.
- Burn Fat and Build Muscle: Walking utilizes both blood sugar and fat to sustain your activity. It breaks down muscle tissue, which is later rebuilt stronger while you rest, aiding in fat burn and muscle development.
- Alleviate Joint Pain: Recommended by the Arthritis Foundation, walking helps manage joint pain by reducing pressure on joints through weight maintenance, improving joint flexibility and strengthening surrounding muscles.
- Improve Your Sleep: Regular exercise leads to improved sleep quality. This is because physical activity enhances the effects of melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep.
- Strengthen Immune System: Exercise, including walking, enhances immune cell activity, raises body temperature to combat bacteria and viruses and eliminates bacteria from airways through altered breathing patterns.
- Enhance Mood and Reduce Stress: Walking lowers stress hormones, increases endorphins and oxygen to the brain and has been linked to decreased odds of depression.
- Improve Balance: Walking stabilizes and strengthens leg muscles, aiding in balance maintenance and injury prevention from falls.
Following the American Heart Association's recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly, Union Health suggests you take a 30-minute walk, five times a week. Aim for a pace where you can hold a conversation. Lace-up your shoes and start walking for better health.